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Bloodless' unique counter-based approach to combat not only helps it come off as rather unique in a crowded genre, but the beautiful simplicity it creates with its non-lethal approach eventually gives way to a deeper layer of complexity as you face off against trickier foes in stellar showdowns. The world of Bakugawa is a delight to interact with and an absolute feast for the eyes, but the duels it contains are what make this a truly special game, and one not to be missed out on. It's the most fun you can have in a Sekiro-style game without drawing a single drop.
Age of Mythology: Retold eliminates the need to play the original titles as it takes everything from both of those games, modernizes it and brings the experience to 2024. While it lacks the polish of Age of Empires IV, the game remains extremely fun thanks to the mythological units and God Powers that can be recharged and used multiple times. This aspect adds more depth that may have not been there for some players for AOE4. The gameplay aspect does still feel like a RTS from 2002, but the campaign, skirmish and the option of PVE multiplayer will supply a ton of hours to dive into Retold.
What truly holds Concord back is its lack of identity. A story or campaign would have been a great way to showcase the world, its characters and lore, yet all of that is stuffed into the Galactic Guide that few players will probably ever read. The Freegunners and game modes are fun and mostly balanced, though feel derivative when stacked up against the already established competition. Meanwhile, map design feels safe with layouts that don’t encourage much experimentation. Concord is a good, fun game from a brand-new studio that’s currently missing its identity. It may be a bit lost in space, but Concord checks off enough boxes to hopefully chart a path forward.
After eighteen years, the Mana series' new entry, Visions of Mana, proves that the franchise hasn't gone anywhere.
Despite its flaws, Gori: Cuddly Carnage claws out a place in the hack and slash genre.
The idea of a Star Wars game focusing entirely on the world of outlaws in its seedier parts of the universe is a great one, but it deserved a different kind of game than Star Wars Outlaws, instead of being suited for something more like Shadows of Doubt, Disco Elysium or even L.A. Noire. Even a straight, linear action game would be better. Instead, we get a boring, open-world monstrosity with uninspired gameplay, way too many useless features and a constant deluge of uninteresting side content. Kay and company deserve way better and so do the players. Save your credits and wait for something like a solo Kessel Sabacc game instead.
Core Keeper is a strong survival game that can easily chew through the hours, providing a great balance between adventure and homesteading. There's a sense that no idea was left out, whether that be a constant pet companion or minecart rail lines, and while these may not get fully fleshed out, this is a rare occasion where quantity manages to make up for depth. The pet levels up and sometimes enemies drop treats that give it a nice experience boost, and that's all it needs to do. Minecart goes on tracks, riding it beats walking and maybe it doesn't need a complicated system of switches and sidings to get the job done. The underground world of Core Keeper stretches on for functionally forever, filled with chasms, monsters, resources beyond measure and even an underground sea. There's a huge amount of ways to play with it all and sometimes that's more than enough.
Mechanically-engaging and technically impressive when it wants to be, CYGNI: All Guns Blazing goes all in on spectacle with mixed results. Where its core energy-management system is an anxious-but-delightful thing to manage, it's most of what surrounds the gameplay that KeelWorks sadly don't fair as well on. Putting its immediate and dense introduction to one side, its lack of a stand-out musical or artistic identity, while not the end of the world, does mitigate a hefty chunk of how much enjoyment one can find. Particularly in such a visually-busy take on shmups as CYGNI is. Even so, a sufficient level of joy remains via those classically shmup-like moments of holding on to take down a boss or battling through an endless wave of hostiles and still coming out the other side unscathed. Its supposed unique standing doesn't always feel adequate, but CYGNI: All Guns Blazing still presides over an interesting-enough, modern-day take on the genre.
Race to get better. Race for self-improvement. Race to understand how knocking a few hundredths of a second off a best time can feel like victory.
Football is played on the field and this is clearly where the development team focused with Madden NFL 25. The changes to the physics are meaningful and can create opportunities that weren't previously available in the series thanks to BOOM Tech. Getting a perfect hit with Hit Stick 2.0 can be satisfying thanks in part to sound of the pads and the visual cue. Receiver and defender interactions when going for the ball are engaging and the offensive line play is fantastic. The steps EA has taken to make Madden look and sound like Sunday are clear. The holdback comes down to the same experience with the modes in the game, albeit some surface level changes. The new broadcast options and the presentation updates help Madden NFL 25 to feel different.
Black Myth: Wukong is a phenomenal, enthralling and imaginative experience that’s a must-play for anyone who enjoys Chinese mythology.
While the more randomized elements of The Crush House can make it frustrating at times, this "thirst-person shooter" still delivers quite the unique and fun experience. After all, how many games can claim that they provide a challenge in seeing if players can find a way to capture three butts on camera at once while also getting a glimpse of the Success Slide in order to please both the Conspiracy Theorists and Mega Fans? Throw in a good spoof of reality shows with a memorable cast and some bright '90s Malibu visuals, and you have something worth toasting over with a nice glass of Crush Juice...
Deathbound is a game that has a lot of great ideas that seem amazing on paper, but few of them actually end up hitting the mark. The clear high points of this game pretty much all relate to the setting, the story, and the characters presented, but even this is marred by the goofy vocal performances and the frequency of the swearing in a bid to seem edgy and cool. But in the end, the game is dragged down by a wonky multi-character combat system, a messy health system, an all-round unresponsiveness, which is a death warrant in a Souls-like such as this, and the fact that the game's performance is enough to make you throw in the towel before you even have a good reason to write the game off. It feels like a game that would have benefited from pivoting to an all-out hack-and-slash format because, despite labeling itself as one, Deathbound simply doesn't have the polish or the attention to detail needed to truly call itself a Souls game.
While the writing is a little generic and the voice acting isn’t perfect, Eden Genesis still has a considerable amount of charm. Some voice acting is much better than the rest, so most characters' voices will be hit or miss. It's still fun to see the story unfold, but during some periods of the game, the writing can start to be a drag or might just not click for you. Eden Genesis is still a fun game to play and the gameplay loop is top-notch. The trials we are given to complete start easy, but grow into legitimate challenges that will take many tries when you're looking to get the best rank possible.
Ticking all the right boxes to keep one engaged, yet doing little else to stand out even in the confines of its own series, Cat Quest III provides a competent, at times charmingly so, quest for better loot and better opportunities to use it all on. How well you fair on that latter objective will depend on how detrimental you rate a kind of simplistic combat, whose only true barrier to entry are the gear numbers the game ends up dictated by. Yet even with this reliance on player levels and hidden numbers to deducw, what it may lack (or deliberately ignore) in depth, it makes up for with a sufficient loop of activities to hunt down and well-implemented visuals on top. Whether a fan of the series prior or entirely new to what The Gentlebros usually cook up, Cat Quest III still manages to make its island-hopping adventure, a curious one all the same.
Thank Goodness You're Here is a resounding triumph that showcases how comedy and gaming can thrive in perfect harmony. This ability to be at the heart of this interactive comedic experience enhances the belly laughs, the surreal silliness is a joy to behold, and the level design, ever-changing environment and exquisite animation all play their part as well. It's a title that captures the essence of small-town British life and then pushes the stereotypes to the nth degree to offer over-the-top characters and gags that will live long in the memory. It is an admittedly short experience, but it's one that serves as a blueprint for anyone who wants to create a game where humor is the USP.
The updates to gameplay make Bounty Hunter feel modern, fluid and accessible, though the legacy controls are still there for purists. It would have been nice to see a remaster or remake that fixed additional quirks and greatly improved the presentation, but as a $19.99 port, Aspyr has delivered enough changes and updates to make Star Wars: Bounty Hunter feel like the game it always should have been at launch. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is one bounty you’ll want to bring in alive.
Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is an interesting idea for a compilation, but it's hard to enjoy when so much of it reveals a game that blatantly feels rushed, be it in its weak online modes or the uneven spread of challenges with little variety. There are definitely nice challenges here to tackle that put up a good fight, and hints of clever inclusions like the Classified Information guides, but there's too little here at the moment to keep anyone hooked beyond a few hours at best. Sorry Nintendo, but this won't even get you the bronze.
The Star Named EOS delivers on creating a world basking in colorful delight, but is shadowed by a lack of gameplay direction. For those who don’t mind the look past that, the game is sure to please those who love an atmospheric experience within the world. With captivating music and animation, The Star Named EOS brings forth a story that's told through its character and design.
The heart of the game, though, is that it just feels good to tinker with electronics, with almost no penalty for experimentation aside from the bomb levels that run on a generous timer. A few hours with its logic and you'll be putting together intricate machines while prodding at the shape of a solution, hooking up multiple components of varying complexity with only a bit of rewiring when it doesn't quite go to plan. The dozens of parts and change in puzzle style for each chapter of the story keep Linkito moving along from start to finish, and it's hard to stop before every last bit of stray content is fully solved.